Authenticatable Articles, Fabric and Method of Manufacture

ABSTRACT

An article and method of manufacturing an authenticatable finished fabric and article comprising the steps of: obtaining an original fabric article comprising DNA fiber, the original fabric article being possessed by a celebrity at some time; breaking the original fabric article into DNA fiber components; blending the DNA fiber components with virgin fiber to make a DNA fiber blend; generating a DNA fiber blend yarn; weaving or knitting a finished fabric that is configured to form a binary code from a mixture of the DNA fiber blend yarn and a filling yarn; and creating a first level authentication and a second level authentication of the finished fabric.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present invention claims priority to pending U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/549,998 filed Aug. 25, 2017.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention is related to articles and fabrics which can beauthenticated, or the articles containing the fabrics that can beauthenticated, and methods of manufacturing authenticatable fabrics andarticles. More specifically, the present invention is related toarticles comprising multiple authentication elements. The presentinvention also relates to the creation of multiple collectable clothingitems from a single or group of original collectable items. Morespecifically the present invention relates to the creation of multiplecollectable items which have authentication elements.

BACKGROUND ART

Counterfeit goods are a significant problem that cost legitimate ownersof proprietary products significant amounts of revenue. The apparelindustry ranks third in lost revenue, due to counterfeiting, behindelectronics and jewelry.

Labeling is one approach to limiting the counterfeiting of clothing.Increasingly sophisticated labels have been developed includingholograms, barcodes, alphanumeric codes and the like all aimed at makingduplication complicated. However, legitimate labels can be pirated andapplied to counterfeit apparel or the label itself can be counterfeited.Furthermore, labels do not protect the final fabric article itself andonce separated from the final fabric article the authentication, andtherefore value, of the final fabric article may be irrevocably lost.

Fans of sports figures, musicians, actors, and other celebrities in thepublic eye often collect items of memorabilia that is associated withtheir heroes. These items are often limited in quantity and thereforethey command a high, often unaffordable pricing. Therefore, memorabiliais often lucrative for potential fraud and counterfeiting activity. Thebuyer of rare memorabilia items is faced with concerns aboutauthenticity.

A potential market is the creation of multiple collectable items from asingle collectable item by subdividing the original item. For example, abaseball bat used in a game may be subdivided into small pieces andincorporated in a baseball card. A large market is thought to exist forreplica clothing, wherein the clothing replicates a particular articleof clothing worn during an event, wherein the replica has authenticatedportions, such as thread, from the original clothing. This market hasnever reached the expected potential due to the propensity, and ease, ofcounterfeiting which severely mitigates the ability to demonstrateauthenticity for the true replica.

It is difficult to track and authenticate collectable materials that arestandardised, undifferentiated, substitutable, interchangeable,batch-processed in essentially identical form, and available in bulk orfrom a variety of sources. Examples of such materials include primarycommodities, such as agricultural and mineral products, and processedcommodities, such as manufacturing materials, building materials,clothing and industrial chemicals.

Luminescent marking materials have been proposed for identifying orauthenticating high-value articles or materials and in particularsecurity documents such as passports, banknotes, credit cards, cheques,as well as articles such as jewelry, vehicles, electronic goods, etc.However, prior luminescent marking systems require either relativelyhigh amounts of luminescent materials to make detection reliable inambient light or, when using trace amounts of luminescent materials,sophisticated and bulky laboratory spectrometers for detectingluminescence. High concentrations of luminescent materials are notpracticable or cost-effective for tracking industrial process materialswhich are generally low-value commodity materials, typicallymass-produced and sold in bulk. Furthermore, the use of laboratorydetection equipment often requires detailed sample preparation by atrained analytical chemist and is not amenable to high-throughput massscreening of samples for off-site applications.

Various approaches to marking a fiber, or thread, for authentication ofthat fiber or thread are taught. High-resolution tracking of industrialprocess materials incorporating traces of luminescent markers isdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,361,561. Methods for marking threads andfibers is described in WO 2013/026098. Other approaches are disclosedfor marking an overall garment with a label that is applied after thegarment is completely constructed. Woven labels with an invisible barcode are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,764,970, however, as discussedabove the labels are only suitable if there is certainty in thecorrelation between the life cycle of the article and attached label.Clothing item registration systems are known such as in U.S. Publ. Appl.No. 2005/0280534.

There is an ongoing desire for authenticatable fibers, yarns, and/orcomponents containing authenticatable fibers, and articles comprisingthe fibers. Provided herein are authenticatable fibers andauthenticatable articles/items containing the fibers/components and amethod for producing authenticatable articles.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

One embodiment is an article and method of manufacturing anauthenticatable finished fabric and article comprising the steps of:obtaining an original fabric article comprising DNA fiber, the originalfabric article being possessed by a celebrity at some time; breaking theoriginal fabric article into DNA fiber components; blending the DNAfiber components with virgin fiber to make a DNA fiber blend; generatinga DNA fiber blend yarn; weaving or knitting a finished fabric that isconfigured to form a binary code from a mixture of the DNA fiber blendyarn and a filling yarn; and creating a first level authentication and asecond level authentication of the finished fabric.

Another embodiment is fabric or article authenticated at least at twopoints in the manufacturing process.

Another embodiment is an article and method of manufacturing acollectible series of memorabilia items, comprising obtaining anoriginal memorabilia item possessed by a celebrity at some time;breaking the original article down to constituent components;constructing an intermediate assembly or material from the constituentcomponents, and making a final memorabilia item from the intermediateassembly or material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates process steps for making a exemplary embodiment of afinal fabric article, some steps being optional.

MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The present invention is generally directed to a method ofauthenticating unique items, such as sports memorabilia items, tradingcards, photographs, motivational prints, standees, lithographs,mini-jersey replicas, plaques, plates, trophies, autographed sportsapparel, autographed sports equipment, magazine covers, pins,medallions, cels, figurines, steins, tankards, coins, signed art works,signed book editions, and musical and cinematic memorabilia. The term“item” or “article” as used hereinafter encompasses all of theaforementioned types of memorabilia and collectibles. The terms “marker”and “identifier”, as used herein, can be interchangeable. The term“celebrity”, as used herein, is someone who is famous or well-known inareas of entertainment such as sports, music, movies, or writing.

The present invention is also directed toward authenticating articlesand other items during at least two stages of the manufacturing process,for example during fiber making, yarn making, fabrication (such asknitting or weaving), cut and sew, labeling, packaging, final garmentuse and registration. Creating articles with authentication correlatingto at least two levels is more secure and it is significantly harder fora counterfeit operation to duplicate multiple steps in the process.Furthermore, it is difficult if not impossible to add some forms ofauthentication after a specific stage of manufacture is complete. Forexample, once a counterfeit garment is made, the counterfeiter could notmark specific fibers in an intimate blend of fibers already in a yarn.Specifically, if clothing is made with a 60/40 cotton/poly fiber blend,after making the garment, it would be very difficult to add a marker tothe polyester portion only. This step would have to be carried out atthe polyester fiber manufacturing stage.

If marking is done only early in the process, such as at the fiberstage, then the fiber could be used to make counterfeit items in a laterstage if the fiber is diverted away from the owner. Alternatively, ifonly a late stage maker is used, such as a label, the label could beused to mark goods that are not made with genuine fabric or yarn. In thepresent invention, the early stage and late stage markers arecoordinated or paired in a deliberate manner, resulting in a finalfabric article that is self-authenticating. This means that bydeliberately coordinating the steps of the process that incorporatemarking the resulting final fabric article is uniquely marked in a waythat makes it hard to duplicate without duplicating all steps of thearticle making process. By including this data in a publicly transparentdatabase, such as a blockchain database, the authenticity and provenanceof the fiber and article are recorded and ultimately the ownership ofthe final fabric article is secured by owner data in the block chain.

Markers used at each authentication level can contain non-interactingdata that is generally orthogonal to any other marker. Thus, each typeof marker may be obtained through the use of different detectionmodalities that may each be non-interacting or otherwise independent ofeach other so that they do not interfere with each other or the abilityto read each type of data independently of the other types of markers.Each type of marker may be encoded into various dimensions of each pixelof an image that can be readable through the use of shape, color andspectral shift recognition.

The unique serial number associated with the final fabric articleidentifies membership in a certain finite production run only whencompared to a specific database entry and does not, in and of itself,identify the finite production run from which the final fabric articlewas produced. Further, the unique serial number does not identify theposition in the finite run, but rather only membership in the finiteproduction run.

Covert markers can be used in addition to overt markers. Overt markersare those that are easy to observe or are explicitly called out by themanufacturer. Overt markers may be difficult to copy, but they are knownand a copy may be attempted by a skilled person. Covert markers are usedalone or in conjunction with overt markers. The fact that the covertmarker is difficult to even detect makes it less likely to be copied byothers. In the present invention, even using all overt markers but atmore than two stages of the manufacturing process, increases thesecurity level significantly beyond single stage marking.

One embodiment of a marker material is a “luminescent marker” thatrefers to a marker material or mixture of marker materials which displayfluorescence or phosphorescence (emission of light) as a result of aprevious non-thermal energy transfer. Where, for example, a luminescentmaterial is incorporated on and/or into the final fabric articleaccording to any of the methods of the present invention, the finalfabric article is said to be “marked” by the luminescent material. Inthis way the luminescent material is acting as a “luminescent marker”for that particular final fabric article. This marker may be selectedfrom one or more luminescent materials which each provide a uniqueluminescent response when incorporated in and/or on the final fabricarticle. In this way the addition of the trace amount of the luminescentmarker confers a unique identity to that final fabric article. The oneor more luminescent materials respectively comprising the luminescentmarkers may be chosen to provide the unique identity by taking advantageof their unique luminescent profiles, for example, their excitation andemission frequencies and intensities A luminescent marker can thereforeinclude one or more luminescent materials which individually orcollectively have a unique luminescent emission and/or excitationprofile.

Examples of luminescent marker materials which may be used individuallyor in combination as a luminescent marker in the methods of the presentinvention include luminescent organic materials such as aromatic andheteroaromatic monomers, fluorescent dyes known by many trade names,fluorescent polymers, light-emitting dopant functionalised polymers,luminescent metal complexes, phosphors, and luminescent nanoparticlematerials.

Using either light upshifting or light downshifting technology with aluminescent marker material allows many combinations and permutationsfor making unique and orthogonal identifiers for authentication. Theluminescent marker material enables chemical upshifts and/or downshiftsfrom a specific wavelength to another specific wavelength. Theidentification measurement device can detect and measure the upshift ordownshift and report quantitatively how much of the luminescent markermaterial is present and where the exact upshift or downshift occurs.

In one embodiment fibers can be marked with chemical markers, such asluminescent markers, that can be detected visually and/or optically.After the fibers are marked they can be intimately blended with otherfibers, such as virgin fibers, which are not marked. The resulting fiberblend can then made into DNA fiber blend yarn. Yarns made with this DNAfiber blend can then used to weave a fabric. The fiber weave can be madeup of the marked DNA fiber blend yarn and another non-marked yarn, suchas a filling yarn. By combining the two yarns in a pre-determinedpattern, the fabric weave can be orthogonally encoded. After forming thefinished fabric, the fabric can be cut to a clothing pattern shape andsewn together using a specific thread to make a final fabric article.After sewing the final fabric article, a print pattern can be appliedusing a UV responsive ink. The final fabric article can then have aspecific label with markings that are difficult to duplicate. The entirecombination of marking at more than two stages of the final fabricarticle making process has formed a unique, self authenticatingcombination of markers for the final fabric article.

In another embodiment fibers are marked with chemical markers that canbe detected visually or optically. After the fibers are marked they areintimately blended with more fibers which are not marked. The resultingfiber blend is then made into yarn. Yarns made with this intimate fiberblend are then used to weave a fabric. The fiber weave is made up of themarked fiber blend yarn and another non-marked yarn. By combining thetwo yarns in a pre-determined pattern, the fabric weave can beorthogonally encoded. After forming the woven fabric, the fabric is cutto a clothing pattern shape and sewn together using a specific thread.After sewing the final fabric article, a print pattern is applied usinga UV responsive ink. Next the final fabric article has a specific labelwith markings that are difficult to duplicate and may include a uniqueserial number. The unique serial number can be in the form of a twodimensional bar code such as a quick response (QR) code. After that thecompleted and labeled final fabric article is autographed by theoriginal wearer of the original final fabric article to furthersubstantiate the providence of the final fabric article. Next the finalfabric article is photographed and photographic recording of the finalfabric article is entered into a data base relating the unique serialnumber to the photographic and other authenticating data. The data maybe queried by authorized persons to verify the authenticity of the finalfabric article. The data base may also incorporate ownershipinformation, thus completing a loop of authenticating and correctownership or title of the final fabric article. The entire combinationof marking at more than 2 stages of the final fabric article makingprocess has formed a unique, self authenticating combination of markers.

FIG. 1 illustrates process steps for making a exemplary embodiment of afinal fabric article, with some steps being optional: 100 Obtain anoriginal fabric article comprising DNA fiber possessed by a celebrity;102 Apply a blend of a marker material and a curable material to theoriginal fabric article; 104 Remove extraneous pieces from the originalfabric article; 106 Break down the original fabric article into DNAfiber components; 108 Blend the DNA fiber components with virgin fiberto make a DNA fiber blend; 110 Generate a DNA fiber blend yarn; 112Weave or knit a finished fabric that is configured to form a binary codefrom a mixture of the DNA fiber blend yarn and a filling yarn; 114Create a first level authentication of the finished fabric comprisingthe marker material and a percent DNA fiber blend in the DNA fiber blendyarn; 116 Create a second level authentication of the finished fabriccomprising the marker material and a percent DNA fiber blend yarn in thefinished fabric; and 118 Dye the finished fabric.

In another embodiment, a method of manufacturing an authenticatablefinished fabric and article is disclosed comprising the steps of:obtaining an original fabric article comprising DNA fiber, the originalfabric article being possessed by a celebrity at some time; breaking theoriginal fabric article into DNA fiber components; blending the DNAfiber components with virgin fiber to make a DNA fiber blend; generatinga DNA fiber blend yarn; weaving or knitting a finished fabric that isconfigured to form a binary code from a mixture of the DNA fiber blendyarn and a filling yarn; and creating a first level authentication and asecond level authentication of the finished fabric. The first levelauthentication and the second level authentication can be selected fromthe group consisting of a marker material on the original fabricarticle, a marker material on the DNA fiber components, a markermaterial on the DNA fiber blend yarn, a binary code in the finishedfabric, a marker material on the finished fabric, a marker material onthe finished fabric article, a serial number sewn on the finished fabricarticle, a percent DNA fiber blend in the DNA fiber blend yarn, apercent DNA fiber blend yarn in the finished fabric, and combinationsthereof. Additional manufacturing steps can comprise applying a blend ofa marker material and a curable material to the original fabric article;removing extraneous pieces from the original fabric article; dyeing thefinished fabric; cuting and sewing a final fabric article from thefinished fabric, the final fabric article comprising a unique serialnumber; recording the unique serial number in a database; marking thefinal fabric article with a substance containing the marker material;and autographing the final fabric article.

The database can have an entry at each method step and can be ablockchain distributed database. Database entries can be at least one oftime, geomarker, DNA fiber type, virgin fiber type, marker material,marker test results, photographic evidence, finished fabric weights,shipping tracker information, unique serial number, finished fabricfinal fabric article type, description, color, size, sewing thread witha marker material, personal identifiable information for both currentand former owners, and combinations thereof. The celebrity can be famousor well-known in at least one area of entertainment such as sports,music, movies, and writing. The original fabric article can be a gameworn article.

The marker material can be a luminescent marker material and can beconfigured as a pen and applied to the original fabric article by thecelebrity. The curable material can be ultra-violet curable. Extraneouspieces on the article can be patches, embroidery, zippers, buttons, andmixtures thereof.

For the DNA fiber blend yarn, the ratio of virgin fiber/DNA fiber blendcan be in the range of 25/1 to 75/1. For the finished fabric, the ratioof filling yarn/DNA fiber blend yarn can be in the range of 5/1 to 15/1.The DNA fiber blend can have a man-made marked polymer fiber, such as apolypropylene fiber, with marker material embedded in the polymer fiber.The marker material can be mixed with the curable material prior tocuring.

The DNA fiber blend yarn can be configured in a specific sequence withinthe weave or knit to form a binary code comprising a repeat pattern inthe range of 50 to 99. A unique serial number can be configured on alabel, such as a bar code, and attached to the final fabric article. Thebar code can be a two-dimensional barcode such as a quick response (QR)barcode.

Additional method steps can include stamping the final fabric articlewith an ink stamp having marker material in the ink, wherein the inkstamp is applied on a single piece of the final fabric article, orstamping the final fabric article with an ink stamp having markermaterial in the ink, wherein the ink stamp is applied on a seam of thefinal fabric article, thereby demonstrating that the stamp was appliedafter the sewing operation. The marker material can be a covert markerconfigured as a pen that is applied to the final fabric article by thecelebrity.

Another embodiment of the invention can be a fabric or articleauthenticated at least at two points in the manufacturing processwherein the first authenticating point is in the first half of themanufacturing process and the second authenticating point is in thesecond half of the manufacturing process. Alternatively, the firstauthenticating point can be the first step of the manufacturing processand the second authenticating point can be the second step of themanufacturing process. Alternatively, every step of the manufacturingprocess can include authenticating.

Another embodiment of the invention can be a method of manufacturing acollectible series of memorabilia items using the method steps of:obtaining an original memorabilia item possessed by a celebrity at sometime; breaking the original article down to constituent components;constructing an intermediate assembly or material from the constituentcomponents, and making a final memorabilia item from the intermediateassembly or material. The memorabilia item can be selected from thegroup consisting of clothing, jewelry, bats, balls, clubs, hockeysticks, balls, saddles, bridles, musical instruments, props, andcombinations thereof. The constituent components can be selected fromthe group consisting of metal, wood, fiber, cloth, plastic leather, andcombinations thereof.

The invention has been described with reference to the preferredembodiments without limit thereto. Additional embodiments andimprovements may be realized which are not specifically set forth hereinbut which are within the scope of the invention as more specifically setforth in the claims appended hereto.

1. A method of manufacturing an authenticatable finished fabric andarticle, comprising: obtaining an original fabric article comprisingauthentic fiber, the original fabric article being possessed by acelebrity at some time; breaking the original fabric article intoauthentic fiber components; blending the fiber components with virginfiber to make an authentic fiber blend; generating an authentic fiberblend yarn; weaving or knitting a finished fabric that is configured toform a binary code from a mixture of the authentic fiber blend yarn anda filling yarn; and creating a first level authentication and a secondlevel authentication of the finished fabric.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the first level authentication and the second levelauthentication are selected from the group consisting of a markermaterial on the original fabric article, a marker material on theauthentic fiber components, a marker material on the fiber blend yarn, abinary code in the finished fabric, a marker material on the finishedfabric, a marker material on the finished fabric article, a serialnumber sewn on the finished fabric article, a percent authentic fiberblend in the authentic fiber blend yarn, a percent authentic fiber blendyarn in the finished fabric, and combinations thereof.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, further comprising: applying a blend of a marker material and acurable material to the original fabric article; removing extraneouspieces from the original fabric article; and dyeing the finished fabric.4. The method of claim 3, further comprising: cutting and sewing a finalfabric article from the finished fabric, the final fabric articlecomprising a unique serial number; recording the unique serial number ina database; marking the final fabric article with a substance containingthe marker material; and autographing the final fabric article.
 5. Themethod of claim 4, wherein the database further comprises an entry ateach method step.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the database furthercomprises a blockchain distributed database.
 7. The method of claim 6,wherein the blockchain distributed database comprises entries selectedfrom the group consisting of time, geomarker, authentic fiber type,virgin fiber type, marker material, marker test results, photographicevidence, finished fabric weights, shipping tracker information, uniqueserial number, finished fabric final fabric article type, description,color, size, sewing thread with a marker material, personal identifiableinformation for both current and former owners, and combinationsthereof.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the celebrity is famous orwell-known in at least one area of entertainment such as sports, music,movies, and writing.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the originalfabric article comprises a game worn article.
 10. The method of claim 2,wherein the marker material comprises a luminescent marker material. 11.The method of claim 3, wherein the curable material is ultra-violetcurable.
 12. The method of claim 2, wherein the marker material isconfigured as a pen and applied to the original fabric article by thecelebrity.
 13. The method of claim 3, wherein the extraneous piecescomprise patches, embroidery, zippers, buttons, and mixtures thereof.14. The method of claim 1, wherein the ratio of virgin fiber/authenticfiber blend in the authentic fiber blend yarn is in the range of 25/1 to75/1.
 15. The method of claim 1, wherein the authentic fiber blendfurther comprises a man-made marked polymer fiber, such as apolypropylene fiber, with marker material embedded in the polymer fiber.16. The method of claim 2, wherein the marker material is mixed with thecurable material prior to curing.
 17. The method of claim 1, wherein theratio of filling yarn/authentic fiber blend yarn in the finished fabricis in the range of 5/1 to 15/1.
 18. The method of claim 1, wherein theauthentic fiber blend yarn is configured in a specific sequence withinthe weave or knit, thereby forming a binary code comprising a repeatpattern in the range of 50 to
 99. 19. The method of claim 4, wherein theunique serial number is configured on a label attached to the finalfabric article.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the label comprisesa bar code.
 21. The method of claim 20, wherein the bar code is atwo-dimensional barcode such as a quick response (QR) barcode.
 22. Themethod of claim 2, further comprising: stamping the final fabric articlewith an ink stamp having marker material in the ink, wherein the inkstamp is applied on a single piece of the final fabric article.
 23. Themethod of claim 2, further comprising: stamping the final fabric articlewith an ink stamp having marker material in the ink, wherein the inkstamp is applied on a seam of the final fabric article, therebydemonstrating that the stamp was applied after the sewing operation. 24.The method of claim 2, wherein the marker material comprises a covertmarker and is configured as a pen that is applied to the final fabricarticle by the celebrity.
 25. A final fabric article made by the processof claim
 1. 26-33. (canceled)